Caught?
by Kiarene
Summary: Heero catches Wufei sneaking out of an Oz base. One-shot. 1x5


**Title:** Caught?  
**Author: **Kiarene  
**Pairings:** 1+5  
**Rating: **G  
**Summary: **Heero catches Wufei sneaking out of an Oz base.

**Published: **17th April 2004  
**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. 

Caught? 

"Chang."

Wufei stilled, and then turned around slowly. His face was carefully blank but his heart was racing. Of all the pilots to be caught by...

Heero Yuy leapt down from one of the large trees that ringed the perimeter of the Oz compound and landed with just a faint rustle on the dried leaves below. His face was as impassive as Wufei's, but his blue eyes was quietly angry. Like the calm before a typhoon. 

Wufei had seen many Yuy-glares, sometimes even from the receipient end, but he had never seen that particular glare before. The perfect soldier's anger was usually cold and calm; an efficient means of harnassing the emotion for the mission. But this — Wufei's eyes widened at the heated fury simmering behind the normally icy blue.

He was going to die today, Wufei was sure. He lifted his chin proudly. At least he would make sure to face death — or Yuy — like a warrior. But Yuy did not kill him right away, did not draw out one of his ever-present guns. Instead, he crossed his arms and waited. "Explain yourself."

Wufei raised a brow. This was also unusual; Yuy wasn't known for small-talk. When he made up his mind to eliminate, be it a base or a person, he just did. "Explain what?"

"Why you were in Kushrenada's room. Why you were... playing chess," Yuy spat out the last two words, anger and confusion animating his normally flat tone. 

"Why do you think?" Wufei wondered why he was baiting the other pilot. 

"Initially, I had thought you were a traitor," Yuy said, frowning in puzzlement. "But after observation—" translate: Wufei was bugged and monitored "—I couldn't find evidence that you had been passing along secrets."

"I'm not a traitor," Wufei said heatedly, and glanced around. "Look Yuy, could we possibly continue this conversation somewhere safer?"

"What? The OZ guards have not been told about you?" Yuy remarked sarcastically.

"No," Wufei said simply. He started walking and Yuy had no choice but to follow him. The two boys melted into the sun-dappled forest like wraiths.

Wufei flitted lightly from tree root to root, avoiding the dried leaves that littered the forest floor. Strangely enough, after his initial fright had worn off, he felt calm. Ready for his judgement. In his heart, he felt that he had done nothing wrong, but intellectually, he knew what he did wasn't right either. Even if he had not actively told Kushrenada anything, by his neutral actions, one might say he was a traitor already. 

But he was just so damn tired of all the fighting sometimes. Justice be hanged — he was not a killing machine, he was just a tired fifteen year old. 

When they came to the overgrown grove where he had hidden his bike, Wufei was not surprised to see Yuy's own bike parked there as well. The undergrowth and bramble had overgrown to an extent that it easily obscured the lower half of the bikes. Artful draping of some branches and vines concealed the rest of the bikes.

"Talk."

Wufei slowly started clearing away the prickly greenery from his bike. "How long have you been following me?"

"I ask the questions here," Yuy snapped back as he joined Wufei. After a pause, "Two months."

"Saa." Wufei kept his eyes down on his bike as he started speaking. Yuy appeared to be in an odd mood today. "I guess it really started after my first duel with Trieze. I lost... and Trieze spared my life. I guess you know this. After that, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Why I lost, why he did not kill me. What's the whole point of all this fighting; I call it justice, but is it really? Is it vengence?"

Wufei turned to Yuy, eyes flashing as he waved a hand agitatedly. "Or was it just revenge, pure and simple? He killed Mei... my colony, though not directly. If I had managed to kill him, would I be justified then? Does that make anything right? Or am I just as guilty as he is? When will it all end?"

Yuy opened his mouth but Wufei cut him off. "Do not give me any drivel about the mission—"

"I wasn't," Yuy scowled. "Do you think I'm some robot?"

Wufei flushed. That was uncalled for and disrespectful, and he did respect Yuy. "I …apologize."

Wufei waited but Yuy did not continue. Despite his cutting comment earlier, in a way, he envied Yuy. The Japanese pilot never seemed to be troubled by philosophical questions; his world was neatly defined in sharply delineated lines of mission parameters. That was why he was the perfect soldier. 

Wufei went on in a quieter tone, "I became very confused. Started questioning myself, started questioning my actions." 

Yuy shot him a sharp look and Wufei grinned tightly. "I know — have I become a security risk?"

"No, that wasn't what—" 

Wufei cut him off. "I didn't mean that I would defect or something. I would never; I believe in our cause. But I am compromising the team. We rely on each other implicitly; there can be no hesitation or mercy in battle."

Yuy considered his words. "You're right."

"So I sought out Treize Kushrenada again for another duel, fully prepared and determined to kill him because I cannot afford to have doubts." Wufei pushed his bike out of the grove, kicking the brambles back over the slightly flattened area. "I lost again. He spared my life again."

"Why?" 

"I asked him that as well," Wufei replied flatly. "He took out a decanter of wine and offered me a drink. Naturally I refused. Then he sat down with a glass of wine and started talking. About the war and killing and honor. All the questions I find myself grappling with." 

"Is he—"

"Crazy?" Wufei laughed mirthlessly. "I thought so too."

"Then..."

Wufei's lips twitched up in a crooked smile. "Trieze can be very charming and persistent. I went back a couple more times to kill him and it always ended with us talking."

"What about?" Yuy sounded flabbergasted, as if he couldn't imagine what an Oz general and a Gundam pilot could have in common.

Wufei shrugged. He thought the same initially, but over time, he'd come to the realization that they had many similar opinions, in fact. What they did disagree on, they were only too ready to debate it out with intellectual fervour. Wufei missed the academic stimulation. The other Gundam pilots… well, they weren't scholars, except Winner, but the Arabian pilot was trained more in economics and other skills needed to take over his family business.  

"Anything, everything. Have you seen his collection of books?" Wufei sighed enviously. "Except anything that might compromise us. Or Oz. He's shown me honor in not asking about our Gundams, I can do no less." 

"So... you became friends?" Yuy looked skeptical. 

"Of a sort." Wufei cocked his head look at Yuy as he swung a leg over his bike. "Our friendship does not extend to the battlefield."

Yuy flicked the kickstand on the bike down and walked over to stand in front of Wufei, scowling darkly. "Friendship? He kissed you once — that isn't what friends do."

"I—" Wufei made a strangled sound. To his mortification, he could feel a faint heat creeping along his cheeks. "You... How dare you? It's none of your business!"

"It is if you could be compromising us," Yuy snapped back.

"I…"

"Are you sleeping with him?" Suddenly, the heated fire was back in Yuy's blue eyes and Wufei would have taken a step back if he wasn't already seated on his bike. Speared by Yuy's glare, Wufei found himself searched. 

Weighed. Judged. 

"No!" Wufei shook his head furiously. His face felt like it was on fire, but he couldn't look away. "Nothing happened!"

Wufei's mind jumped back to the few times Trieze had kissed him. The older man had admitted that he was attracted to the Chinese pilot not long after they began meeting on a more friendly note. 

"Do you like him?" 

"No!" Wufei denied truthfully. He was *slightly* attracted to the debonair man but no, he didn't like him in a romantic sense. 

"Does he like you?" Yuy sounded partly mollified.

The renewed blush on Wufei's face told Yuy the answer and the blue-eyed glare sharpened.  

"He… he's using you!" Yuy blurted out, and then looked horrified. Wufei blinked. Not once had he ever seen Heero Yuy …blurt out anything. The Perfect Soldier never lost control. 

"Why?" Yuy sounded bewildered and angry, but there seemed to be no condemmation in his tone. His hands were clenched in fists as he stared at Wufei. "Why do you keep going back?"

Wufei was frankly beyond shocked — he was spooked. Yuy was seriously scaring him. He had thought about what the other pilots' reactions would be if they caught him. Winner *might* psychoanalyze, Maxwell... was a big question mark because till now, Wufei still hadn't figured out the random American. But he was sure that Barton's and Yuy's reactions would be very predictable. 

"I..I was..." Wufei stuttered. Why indeed? The reasons for his actions had kept him up for many nights, tormented him when he tried to meditate. Ultimately, he had to admit that it wasn't logic that kept him away, but emotions that drew him back. His gut feeling told him that Trieze was an honorable man, even if he was on the other side of the war. Wufei trusted him, even if he did not trust Oz, and he genuinely wanted to find out why the Trieze Kushrenada did what he did. 

The odd companionship, however stressful the subterfuge was, rejuvenated him as well. A quiet oasis in the war that sucked him, leeched them all, dry. When he was in Trieze's rooms, whether playing chess or engaging in debates or simply talking, he could forget that he was a gundam pilot for a while. Forget that he was a teenage terrorist and pretend he was just a simple scholar boy all over again. 

And... if he was to be truthful, he was also flattered by the intense attention the Oz general paid him. He was fifteen and other than his arranged marriage, which had been disastrous, he had no other romantic contact. 

He had always pushed Trieze away politely, demurring but never outright rejecting. Sometimes, he fantasizes about the 'what ifs'. For Trieze was handsome and charming and brillant and cultured and... 

...and he was lonely and weak and tired. 

Wufei closed his eyes in shame.

The silence hung like a miasma around them, heavy and accusing in the limpid heat of the late afternoon. 

And then, Wufei felt hands settling gently on his shoulders. His eyes shot open and Yuy was leaning close, so close...

"You don't have to go back," Yuy breathed, brushing his lips lightly over Wufei's. 

Wufei froze in shock. Every moment stretched like taffy, honey-sweet and warm, as Yuy kissed him. It was hesistant, clumsy, nothing like Trieze's experienced kisses. But Yuy's lips were sweet and painfully sincere, and Wufei relaxed marginally. 

Yuy… liked him? He had never shown any signs! Wufei didn't know Yuy well — they were not often paired on missions and tended to keep to themselves once they were back in the safehouse — but he did admire the quiet Japanese boy. Yuy was strong, efficient, more than competent. He knew he admired Yuy and he had thought about getting to know the other Asian boy better, as a friend. 

Looked like Yuy did too. 

Could he… give Yuy a chance? Wufei smiled slightly against the kiss; Yuy took a chance with him — he could do no less. Slowly, his hands moved up to rub lightly against Yuy's upper arms, drawing him closer as he parted his lips and returned Yuy's kiss. 

"I..." Wufei finally pulled away slowly, reluctant to break the tranquil and romantic atmosphere. His hands remained on Yuy's arms, however, keeping the thinner boy in place. "I won't stop visiting Trieze, Yuy. He is an honorable man and I respect that. Perhaps this war can come to a peaceful conclusion. There isn't anything between us except a sort of intellectual comaradeship, Yuy… Heero."

Heero's sudden smile, though it was just a faint upward tugging of lips, was still blinding.

"Trieze did want more, but he stopped when I told him no. It didn't feel …right." Wufei grinned and leaned in closer, brushing the tip of his nose against the other boy's playfully. "Not like this."

"Really?" Yuy sounded painfully unsure. 

"So far," Wufei quipped. "You're welcome to convince me further."

At Heero's blank look, Wufei rolled his eyes. "I'm talking about getting to know each other better. I'm talking more kisses like that, and more. I'm talking dates, romantic walks and flowers… I'm kidding about the last part!" The Chinese pilot broke out in a peal of laughter. "Oh, your face! It was priceless!"

Heero's aghast look quickly melted into a look of annoyance as he swatted the other shaking boy. Lightly. "Omae o korosu…"

Wufei wiped his tears and grinned. "You can start by having dinner with me." Reaching foward, he unclasped his helmet and put it on. 

"Dinner? Where?" Yuy looked lost. Dating wasn't one of the things J covered, apparently. 

"How about the Neo Ginza area?" Wufei gunned his engine, grinning slyly. Then he leaned over and blithely pecked Yuy on the lips. "I feel like Japanese tonight." 

**~*~**


End file.
